[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s Mirae SCI said on June 12 it has secured financing from the Yozma Group to create a biotechnology-focused joint venture with the Israel-based venture capital firm here.

Yozma Group Korea invested 5 billion won (US$4.65 million) in the form of convertible bonds issued by Mirae SCI. With the deal, the Korean company has completed selling 8 billion won worth convertible bonds.

The Yozma Startup Campus in Pangyo, south of Seoul

Mirae SCI plans to use 3 billion won of the investment proceeds to establish Yozma Bio Holdings that the two firms agreed to set up in April.

Yozma Bio Holdings will focus on commercializing biotechnology developed at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science by transferring the tech to Korean companies. The JV will also offer investment, consulting and global networking services to local bio startups.

The research institution, which was ranked sixth in the world in the 2017 Innovation supplement index by the Nature Journal, holds over 2,000 patents in biology, physics and chemistry.

“Yozma Bio Holdings will play a central role for our future investments in Korean biotechs,” Yozma Group Chairman Yigal Erlich said.